Gabriel Garzón-Montano Plays ‘The Game’ To Perfection

Becoming the man you were meant to be, can be a process of trial and error, but its also as much a ‘Trial’ about facing your fears and dreams. Gabriel Garzón-Montano may have found instant notoriety when Drake did a Drake and sampled ‘6 8’ for his own track ‘Jungle’, but for all intents and purposes at that point Gabriel wasn’t still good with himself.

What was just an obscure track from a little known singer/songwriters EP, eventually became a moment of reckoning for the multi-instrumentalist Gabriel, who had to muster up some courage and get ready to bring his game. The Brooklyn-born Gabriel had debuted, Bishouné: Alma del Huila, to little notice, and subsequently caught the ear of Lenny Kravitz who offered him the chance to head out on the road as support across Europe.

By the time we were reading about him, he was on the road to fame and it was too late for Gabriel to turn back. After that nothing was the same. Turning a moment of doubt into a moment of clarity he journeyed to a place where he found himself signed and sounding resoundingly secure about where he could be heading next, preparing to release his first full length album ‘Jardin’ on Stones Throw.

Gabriel Garzón-Montano now enters ‘The Game’ with a sweeping confidence, his follow up to the sharp and sweet flavour of his recent single, ‘Sour Mango’. Gabriel explains that journey to ‘The Game’ saying: “We all play the game. We can make the best of it and we can make the worst of it. I wrote this as a reminder not to take myself so seriously – it’s easy to grow solemn and boring! This song says be brave and show your joy and give your love. Have a heart like a tangerine. You don’t have to lose the game.”

“Jokers in a marketplace /Punish virtues and forgive mistakes”

As well as his funky vocal flair, he drops the rhythm in bass, drums, keyboard and guitar, doing it all in a very special way. Gabriel heads to Europe in 2017 which will include an unmissable live gig on 22 February at Jazz Café in London, and trust us when we tell you its going to be an essential highlight of the year.